MenaRick Vineyard & Winery: A Yadkin Valley Winery Built on Two Old-World Traditions
MenaRick Vineyard and Winery traces back to 2006, when Rick and Mena bought a piece of foothills farmland in Ronda, North Carolina to build a winery unlike any other in the Yadkin Valley. Rick grew up around winemaking in California; Mena grew up in Portugal, surrounded by her family’s vineyards. Together they set out to build something shaped by both traditions — “Bem Vindos!” (welcome, in Portuguese) is how they still greet every guest. The first 3.5 acres of vines went into the ground in 2008, and Rick — who had spent years building homes and doing construction — put those same skills into designing and building the winery and tasting room himself.
What sets MenaRick apart in a region full of familiar Bordeaux-style reds and native muscadine wines is its focus on Spanish and Portuguese varietals, a rarity in North Carolina. The winery has been recognized in TravelAwaits magazine’s roundup of the best wineries in North Carolina, and visitors consistently mention how personally Rick and Mena run the tasting room — pouring the wines themselves and sharing the story behind each one. One guest summed it up simply: “Great owners that are passionate about their wines, and who are fun and interesting to share a glass on the patio with.” Another described it as “an excellent little winery hidden away in the NC farm country,” making Portuguese-style wines that are “fuller bodied with depth and character” — unusual, and memorable, for this part of the state.
The Wines of MenaRick Vineyard & Winery
MenaRick farms 8 acres of vines on its 40-acre foothills estate, growing Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay, Albariño, Grenache, Tempranillo, and Touriga Nacional — a lineup built almost entirely around Iberian grapes rather than the French-derived varietals that dominate most of the Yadkin Valley. The wines are bottled unfiltered, a choice the winery makes deliberately to preserve the full aroma and flavor of each grape. Guests often describe the reds in particular as fuller-bodied and more structured than they expect from a North Carolina winery — a reflection of the Portuguese and Spanish winemaking Mena and Rick grew up with.
Planning Your Visit
Address: 328 Luffman Road, Ronda, NC 28670
Hours: Friday & Saturday 11am – 5pm, Sunday 12pm – 5pm
MenaRick keeps its visit options simple and unpretentious:
- Guided Tastings — a seated or bar tasting through the current Spanish- and Portuguese-inspired lineup, poured by the tasting room staff (often Rick or Mena themselves).
- Wine Flights — a self-paced way to sample several wines side by side.
- Wine by the Glass or Bottle — for guests who already know what they like, or want to relax on the patio without a formal tasting.
- Picnic on the Grounds — MenaRick explicitly invites guests to bring a picnic and enjoy the vineyard view with a glass or bottle in hand.
A few practical notes we have learned from bringing groups here: MenaRick is a small, family-run operation, so the pace is unhurried and conversational rather than a scripted tour — expect to actually talk with the people who make the wine. Because the tasting room is only open Friday through Sunday, this is a winery you need to plan around rather than fit in on a whim. We recommend budgeting at least an hour here, longer if you bring a picnic and want to sit out on the porch overlooking the vines — several visitors specifically mention the porch view as a highlight.
Where MenaRick Fits in Your Tour Route
MenaRick sits in Ronda, right in the cluster of wineries around Elkin and the Surry – Wilkes county line, one of the most winery-dense corners of the Yadkin Valley. That makes it easy to pair with a couple of neighboring tasting rooms on the same day without much drive time between stops. Because its hours are limited to Friday through Sunday, we typically build a MenaRick visit around one of those three days and route the rest of the tour to match.
Plan on roughly 1.5 hours per winery plus drive time. Most tasting rooms in this part of the valley open between 11am and noon, which lines up well with MenaRick’s own Friday and Saturday 11am opening — a good reason to make it a first or second stop of the day. Because the wines here lean so heavily on Spanish and Portuguese grapes, it also makes a nice contrast stop if the rest of your day is built around more classic Cabernet- and Chardonnay-focused wineries — guests often tell us MenaRick’s Albariño or Touriga Nacional was the wine they remembered most from the whole tour.
Wine Tour Transportation to MenaRick Vineyard & Winery
Ashe County Livery provides private, chauffeured wine tour transportation to MenaRick Vineyard & Winery from Ashe County, Boone, Blowing Rock, West Jefferson and across NC’s High Country. Our MenaRick Vineyard & Winery trip-planning page covers drive times, tasting-room hours, group sizes and pricing.
Travel in a luxury SUV, sedan, or Sprinter van with a professional chauffeur — everyone in your group gets to taste, nobody has to drive. We only charge from pickup to your last drop-off, and every tour includes a complimentary cooler with ice and water. Plan your MenaRick Vineyard & Winery tour or call (336) 484-1350.
Nearby wineries we also serve: Raffaldini Vineyards · Elkin Creek Vineyards · Grassy Creek Vineyard — or browse all 54 Yadkin Valley wineries we provide transportation to.
Explore More from Ashe County Livery
- Yadkin Valley Wine Tours — Explore NC’s premier wine region
- High Country Wine Tours — Mountain winery service
- Wedding Transportation — Luxury transportation for your big day
- Airport Transfers — CLT, AVL, GSO & TRI
- Request a free quote — or call (336) 484-1350
🍷 Planning a Wine Tour in the NC High Country?
Ashe County Livery offers private, luxury wine tour transportation throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains. Skip the driving and let our professional chauffeurs take you from winery to winery in comfort and style.
Serving Banner Elk, Blowing Rock, Boone, and all NC High Country destinations • (336) 484-1350
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